How to widen a trailer axle for cheap (don’t throw away your old axle)
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- I'm building a car hauler out of an old RV camper frame, so I'm going to widen the original trailer axles so I can drop the frame down. I widened the axle 11"
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The world needs more UA-camrs buying projects for 50 bucks! Can't wait to see what you turn it into :)
Haha yeah man. Trailers are really hard to find around here, let alone the jacked up prices, so I figure I can make my own for probably 500$ tires includes
Totally enjoyed your video on cutting and extending your axle.
I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Thanks for your video,I’m currently in a project of widening and extending a homemade utility trailer that I have and was worried about getting the axle back straight and welding it back together.Never thought of using exhaust pipe in the inside of original axle pipe for a tight fit.Thanks again for sharing that info!
Hey, you got it man! It works really well, as long as the pipe you use isn’t kinked or bent. Good luck with your project
Do not go rigid axle if you plan on putting vehicles on it! You’ll break straps every few pot holes if the car suspension is doing all the work
Ohh yeah I never thought about that! I’ll stick with the leaf springs then
I never cut an axel I thought it was solid steel, that's me kicking my...__Great video
Thanks man 🙂
Indecisive, yes, we all stutter and stumble through a project every now and then.
Two weeks ago I cut 12” out of a 91” axle because I was just going to make a small single axle utility trailer. Zoom back to the present, and I slipped in an insert pipe and reinstalled the 12” I had cut out because I have another 91” axle, and all the doo-dads I need to make a 7000gwv trailer on the way.😵💫😬🤷♂
Hahahaha that’s awesome. I always end up stepping on my own toes. I have yet to finish this trailer as for some reason steel quadrupled in price and hasn’t gone down yet.
@@StationroadRatrods
In dallas, three 21’ sticks of 2X4 1/8 rectangular cost me 600.00!
I about passed out, then I started welding and forgot all about it. Steel and Fire!
That’s absolutely nuts!!!
I'm doing the same thing, great job, looks awesome. Thank you..
Nice! I hope it works out well for you
Is going to be sick trailer when you done man 👍🏽👍🏽💯
I hope it works out well, much better than hauling dollies in some scenarios for sure
Barry where is part two. We are doing the same thing here in Ontario and need the axle placement on the trail. Regards Roy Davis
I apologize Roy, I never got back to this axle. I found out after that the trailer itself was in very bad shape and couldn’t be used so I abandoned it
Be good to see updates👍
When I get there I will have updates, there’s too much snow on the ground to get the trailer out again until spring
I would have helped you just to get the tube steel, you did a great job my friend
I appreciate it!
Im attempting to do this but my particular axle is much smaller. I gotta 12 foot pop up camper and my axle is 1.75" outer diameter. As hard as its been just finding pipe for an outer sleeve im wondering if the inner sleeve is even necessary?? I dont get the science behind it. An outer sleeve will align it just like an inner sleeve as long as my outer sleeve is a good snug fit right?
You got it. The only benefit I can see is if you went with an outside pipe, it’s bigger diameter than an inner sleeve so in theory it would be stronger, but again it’s a 12 foot camper and not a semi truck
Any updates on the car hauler? Love watching you do unorthodox things, man
I was actually thinking about it yesterday, I need to come up with a plan to finish it. I’ve been towing around so many shitboxes lately and the dolly is a lot more difficult to use
@@StationroadRatrods I was thinking about what you could do with it: 3,500 lb. leaf springs on each axle (underslung so it drops the trailer deck down a bit), beavertail with a either a gradual or super-shallow angle so low-profile vehicles like the Rat Rod won't high-center where the beavertail slope meets the rear of the main deck, add some sturdy box tubing for side-to-side stringers to support loads, fix the electric trailer brakes, add a winch and lights, weld on a surplus ammo can for strap storage. Then you just gotta paint and deck the thing.
Figure those are 3,500 lb. axles on it; double that, subtract your tongue weight, and that's about what she'll pull. About 6,000 lbs, maybe just over, would be the upper limit of what you got?
You got it man. I’d definitely brace up the trailer frame as it’s an old RV frame and it is pretty rusty. I don’t want to build something unsafe so I’ve been stalling
@@StationroadRatrods If you like, after work today, I'll send over pictures of the beavertail trailer I'm rebuilding for my dad. His trailer (came with the excavstor he bought) is also homebuilt (though wayyy heavier; the guy who built it used three 6,000-lb. mobile home axles to build the thing around, which I'm having a hell of a time trying to get replacement axles for, due to price); might give you an idea of how to better brace your frame.
That sounds awesome! Send em over
Hello, how well did these axles hold up, im looking into doing this to a set of camper axles that have camber to them. Thanks
Hey, I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer but I never actually got to use them. I found out that the frame was rusted out and never got any further with the build
@@StationroadRatrods oh that's a shame, thanks
Good job man
Thanks!
I'm a newfie too my brother I'm in central
I’m in central too, Lewisporte!
I’d say that axel is stronger than when you started
I think so too!
It would be ignorant and dangerous to even consider not putting a suspension in. If it was a farm trailer that you are going to move around at under 30 mph it would be fine. However you need to have a suspension for highway vehicles. Say you hit a pot hole or bump at 65mph on the highway with a 5000# load on it and no springs. What takes the full force of the impact? Your tires. Springs serve to spread out that impact over a longer period. The other problem is that with a rigid axle your frame now becomes the flex point for going over uneven surfaces. Your equalizer in between the axles is what allows your two axles to travel up and down independently while still supporting your load. Your lead springs need to be rated for axle load rating as well as your tire load rating. You should never exceed or try to work around those limitations because you think you are going to bottom out your springs anyway so they dont matter.
The axle bows up in the center so that when a load is applied to the ends of the axle at the mount points they cause the tires to square up with the road under load. If the bow wasn't there and you loaded the trailer down the axle would flex and the tires would wear on the insides very quickly.
Thanks for the advice. I will be using springs and I think I cleared that up in the video but I can’t remember now as it was a while ago. It was a passing thought that I probably should have edited out haha.
I haven’t finished this trailer yet, I need to buy some more materials in the spring and finish it up.
Thanks for the info about the bow in the middle too. When I put the extension in, I was sure to retain the bow. I won’t be hauling any crazy heavy loads but the main vehicle on the trailer will be my 3000 pound truck. So it’ll nice not to have tires wearing prematurely
@@StationroadRatrods
I partly replied because I was searching for extending like you did and I've done it in the past but wanted to see how others have done it. My concern was that someone not familiar with trailer builds would come across this video and think that no springs was a viable solution to make it easier and cheaper. I'd like to see a follow up video on how it turned out.
Absolutely. I’ll update the description when I get a change. As soon as I get back at the trailer I’ll also be doing videos on it until it’s done!
Any plans to finish this?
Definitely, I actually haven’t had a chance to get back at it since this video, maybe over the winter I’ll be able to again, I need to replace the two beams spanning the length of the trailer too
If you’re working about bottoming out leaf springs, I just toss out that that ya need ta get hard rubber snubbers between the springs and the trailer springs.
Worrying not working.
Nice, thanks! That’ll stop it from bottoming out completely?
@@StationroadRatrods yeah, but you can’t run it forever resting on the snubbers, they’ll fracture.
Right on, thanks for that. I’ll probably put them on there
Where The Seam running the length of the pipe; cut a groove along the pipe length [inside pipe]; similar to an auto key and pulley wheel setup. pipe then can slide inside outer pipe axle...
That’d be pretty cool, no idea how I’d do it though 🤣
i have built trailers of all sizes for 50 years, i'm not trying to sound like a asshole but your pipe is not strong for your axles
Thanks, I actually got rid of it al and started over. The pipe is heavy, it was schedule 80 pipe if I remember correctly, but the trailer frame was very soft
So no part 2?
I hate to be the guy who doesn’t upload a part two, but the trailer frame was far too rusty to continue building it. I haven’t gotten a car trailer yet, but one day I’ll build or buy one
It's an old RV frame.
It was yup! Sadly the frame was way too rusty to use
Did you used to live in Texas?
I’m actually from Newfoundland, Canada. Why do you ask?
@@StationroadRatrods oh okay lol well I guess you have a twin in Texas. Friends old roommate to be exact haha. Loving the channel!!!
Hahaa that’s awesome. I didn’t think there were that many redheads around 🤣
I appreciate it dude!